Word of the Day: Coup

coup

coup / ko͞o

noun

1. a very successful, well played action or idea

If there’s 10,000 people looking at the stocks and trying to pick winners, one in 10,000 is going to score, by chance alone, a great coup, and that’s all that’s going on.

Merton Miller, 1923 – 2000

2. a successful, sudden attack to seize power, often done illegally or by force; a coup d’état

To put on the garment of legitimacy is the first aim of every coup.

Barbara Tuchman, 1912 – 1989